Investigators working to solve the murders of four University of Idaho students believe that “someone” knows something that could help lead them to the killer.
On Tuesday, Moscow Police released an update where they appeared to suggest that individuals may be holding back information that could help solve the case.
“Investigators believe someone has information that adds context to what occurred on the night of the murders and continue requesting additional pictures, video, and social media content,” the statement said.
Police once again insisted that the “focus remains on the investigation, not an individual’s activities displayed in the tip” – in what appears to be an effort to encourage individuals who may have engaged in unrelated illegal activity on the night of the murders to come forward with what they know.
“Whether you believe it is significant or not, your information might be one of the puzzle pieces that help solve these murders,” the statement continued.
It is now 45 days since roommates Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, and police appear to be no closer to catching the killer.
No arrests have been made, no suspects have been identified and the murder weapon has not been recovered.
Investigators are still working to piece together the events of the night of 12 November and early morning of 13 November, with a roughly five-hour time gap still unaccounted for in two of the victim’s movements.
That Saturday night, Kernodle and Chapin are known to have been at a sorority party at Sigma Chi house together from 8pm to 9pm and arrived back at the home at around 1.45am. It is unclear where they were during that five-hour time gap.
Goncalves and Mogen spent the night at the Corner Club bar in downtown Moscow, arriving at around 10.30pm and leaving around 1.30am.
A new leaked image has surfaced online appearing to show the two best friends inside the bar mingling with others. The surveillance image, posted on Reddit on Tuesday, has a timestamp of 1.32am.
Close by stands a man matching the appearance of the man dubbed “hoodie guy” who was captured on surveillance footage walking through town with the two women after leaving the club and then on footage at a late-night food truck. He has been ruled out as a suspect in the killings, with Goncalves and Mogen parting ways with him at the food truck and taking a private taxi wide back to their home.
Police previously revealed that Goncalves and Mogen were dropped off at their home at around 1.56am.
Two surviving roommates were also out that night, arriving home at around 1am, police said.
The four victims were then stabbed to death with a fixed-blade knife at around 3am or 4am.
In Tuesday’s update, Moscow Police also confirmed they have ruled out a University of Idaho professor as a suspect after she filed a lawsuit against a TikToker who baselessly accused her of being involved in the brutal crime.
In early December, a TikTok creator made a series of videos baselessly accusing the professor of being involved in the quadruple murders – while also claiming to have solved several other murders in the past through tarot reading.
The professor is now suing the internet sleuth after she refused to stop, despite receiving two cease-and-desist letters.
The professor’s attorney Wendy Olson told The Independent last week that the TikToker’s claims had affected the professor’s reputation and re-victimised loved ones of the slain students.
“The statements made about Professor Scofield are false, plain and simple. What’s even worse is that these untrue statements create safety issues for the Professor and her family,” Ms Olson said in a statement.
She added: “They also further compound the trauma that the families of the victims are experiencing and undermine law enforcement efforts to find the people responsible in order to provide answers to the families and the public.”
On Tuesday, investigators confirmed that the professor is not connected to the killings.
“At this time in the investigation, detectives do not believe the female associate professor and chair of the history department at the University of Idaho suing a TikTok user for defamation is involved in this crime,” police said.
“The Moscow Police Department will not provide a statement about the ongoing civil process.”
Investigators are still searching for the occupant or occupants of a white Hyundai Elantra, model 2011 to 2013, seen in the “immediate area” of the home on King Road at the time of the murders.
The individual or individuals in the car – of which the licence plate is unknown – may have “critical information to share regarding this case”, police said.
Border agents along the US’s border with Canada have been notified to be on the lookout for the car and tips have been pouring in from the public.
So far, police have identified around 22,000 vehicles that fit the description of the vehicle and are combing through the information for clues.
Anyone who owns a vehicle matching the description, or who knows of anyone who may own such a vehicle or have been driving it on the days preceding or the day of the murders, is urged to come forward.
